Flu vaccines for veterans at Walgreens

The New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System will soon offer flu shots to protect the state's military veterans.

Once again this year, the VA and Walgreens drug stores are teaming up to fight the flu. Enrolled veterans of the state Veterans Affairs Health Care System can walk into any Walgreens to get a flu shot, and no appointment is required. Veterans' immunization records will be updated electronically in their local VA electronic health record. Participation is strictly voluntary, and all people who get immunized have to do is show their VA identification card and another form of identification.

Flu vaccine is also available for enrolled, eligible veterans during their scheduled appointments at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center, 1501 San Pedro Drive SE in Albuquerque and continuing availability throughout the flu season until early spring of 2018.

The annual walk-in clinic will open at the medical center on Oct. 2. The clinic will operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the Ambulatory Care Clinic (Room 1A-100) on the first floor of Building 41. The walk-in clinic will remain open through Oct. 27 and will be closed on federal holidays.

The flu vaccine also is available to veterans at VA community-based outpatient clinics across New Mexico, as well as in Durango, Colorado. Veterans are encouraged to call their local clinic for flu shot clinic dates and times. The phone number for the Taos clinic is (575) 751-0328.

For more information about the flu shot clinic, call the Infection Control Department at (505) 265-1711, ext. 4575 or ext. 4363.